Day: October 9, 2026

This week, Baku is hosting the 4th International Conference on “Strengthening Trust and Developing Effective Mechanisms and Solutions for Addressing the Issue of Missing Persons,” organized by Azerbaijan’s State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons within the Baku Dialogue on Missing Persons. Former heads of state and government, representatives of international organizations, experts, diplomats and human rights specialists are among those attending.

RTX’s Raytheon said on Thursday it won a multi-year US military contract worth up to $6.3 ​billion to produce and sustain Standard Missile-3 ‌Block IB interceptors, as the Pentagon seeks to rebuild missile-defense inventories and boost munitions production, Report informs via Reuters.

The award comes as ​the Pentagon looks to replenish stockpiles depleted ​by conflicts in the Middle East and meet ⁠growing demand for air and missile defense systems.

The Standard Missile-3 Block IB is a ballistic missile-defense ​interceptor used by the US Navy against short- and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats.

The deal follows a series of large ​Pentagon missile contracts. In October, Raytheon secured a ​contract worth up to $24.4 billion to produce Standard Missile-6 interceptors ‌for ⁠the US Navy, while Lockheed Martin won a $58.6 billion Patriot missile contract in July.

The agreements are part of the Trump administration’s push to expand ​US weapons production ​by encouraging ⁠contractors to increase manufacturing capacity. Industry executives, however, have warned that a lack of congressional funding could delay investment in ⁠facilities and supply chains.

Raytheon said it has invested in expanding production capacity for the Standard Missile ⁠family. Work under the contract will be performed primarily at its facilities in Tucson, Arizona, and Huntsville, ​Alabama.